Overview
Today we have data everywhere. But idle data is useless unless we make use of it to extract meaningful information out of it. Spatial data is no exception to this. Spatial data makes no sense unless we visualize it on a map. This site contains some self-explaining illustrative maps created through map mashup that turns idle data into rich spatial information that otherwise can't be found on available online maps.Hi, I am Vinod Rowmuria, the creator of this site mapbook.in, a hobbyist's blog site dedicated to maps, mapping technologies, and map mashups with the intention to help enthusiastic map readers to explore places and events on the earth through illustrations on online maps. As we know a picture is worth a thousand words, I think a map illustration does the same thing; it cuts short a thousand explanations. So I have created this site mainly to describe the real world in the form of some self-explanatory illustrations on top of an online map to highlight and explain places, which otherwise remain imperceptible in general map views.
This site contains some useful maps on various topics. It has maps showing geographical extents of features, maps explaining the physical world, maps discovering mysteries of the nature, maps unraveling life on the earth, maps displaying man-made marvels, and maps exploring the world we live in.
Data Sources
There are many open sources from where I obtain free map data for this blog site. The main sources that I have used, includes but not limited to, are GADM, Natural Earth, FreeGISdata, StatSilk, and MapCruzin. These freely available maps are in the form of ArcGIS Shape files, which I modify or change in ArcGIS as per my requirement and convert them to the KML files. I use Google Map and Google Earth interfaces to make fine adjustments to these files. Sometimes I create the KML files directly on the Google Map interface by drawing the features I need. Also sometimes KML files are readily available to download from various sources in the internet.How maps of this site are created
To create the map illustrations, first I create a map layer on the required topic and save it in the form of Google's KML file, or use the downloaded KML files. Then, I overlay this map layer, i.e., the KML file, on top of Google Map and make the necessary changes or add any other required features. This overlay creates a relative representation of the map entities on the online map, which helps in visualizing and understanding the various spatial entities and events on the map.The presentation logic of these map illustrations are limited to the capabilities and characteristics of the KML file provided by Google.
